8 Nov
2010
8 Nov
'10
4:35 p.m.
Halloween weekend, my partner and I attended the Fire Ant Frolic in Austin with Nils
Fredland calling and Elixer playing. Great dances, great music, nice people - what a
wonderful weekend!
Nils did something on several walkthroughs that I don't think I'd ever noticed
before and I thought it was very clever and effective. I asked him during a break if he
had thought it up or where he had learned it and he kind of avoided answering the question
directly... but I thought I'd share it here and see what people think.
On Becket dances that begin with a Circle Left 3/4, he did not have the sets
"becketize" themselves before the walk through... he'd say "hands 4,
ones cross over" and begin the walk through with a "Join Hands Circle Left All
the Way" (which is the same a becketizing by circling left 1/4 and then beginning the
walk through with a circle left 3/4).
I often notice that many dancers aren't listening when you ask them to
"becketize" by circling left 1/4, which leads to initial confusion down the
line, so Nils' solution avoids that common problem. It was obvious (at least to me)
that the dances were, in fact, Becket dances based on how they ended and his description
of the progression, and he'd actually have us begin to the music from the "backed
up" becket formation and Circle 3/4.
I just thought it was a really neat way to do walk throughs for those Becket dances that
start with a Circle Left 3/4. Note that it won't be correct to use for Becket dances
that begin with other moves.
Has anyone else ever seen or used this walk-through technique?
What do you think of it?
I tried it on one dance I called in Cocoa Beach on Saturday and it worked very well.
/Andy Shore
http://andyshore.com
8 Nov
8 Nov
4:44 p.m.
Beth Molaro did this in Chicago last April, and it was novel. A very
neat trick, IMHO.
Jo Mortland
4:48 p.m.
With a becket that begins circle left 3/4 and swing your current/next
neighbor, I will frequently walk it through just starting from the
neighbor swing. If it's a pass through and swing a new neighbor, I'll
walk it through the second time with the pass thru, and then dance from
there so that the folks who just got sent out of the set will come in at
the beginning of the dance. Generally I do point out to dancers after
the walk thru that the dance is becket and that it will start from here
with you on the side of the set with your partner. This doesn't work
(or just isn't effective) for dances that do something other than just
take you back to improper at the beginning of the dance. If the dance
starts with long lines or with other stuff with your partner, then you
do still have to get becket first (or walk the dance through starting
somewhere in the middle, which, while it can work, can be chancy if you
have any newer dancers.
Jack
On 11/8/2010 11:35 AM, Andy Shore wrote:
Halloween weekend, my partner and I attended the Fire
Ant Frolic in Austin with Nils Fredland calling and Elixer playing. Great dances, great
music, nice people - what a wonderful weekend!
Nils did something on several walkthroughs that I don't think I'd ever noticed
before and I thought it was very clever and effective. I asked him during a break if he
had thought it up or where he had learned it and he kind of avoided answering the question
directly... but I thought I'd share it here and see what people think.
On Becket dances that begin with a Circle Left 3/4, he did not have the sets
"becketize" themselves before the walk through... he'd say "hands 4,
ones cross over" and begin the walk through with a "Join Hands Circle Left All
the Way" (which is the same a becketizing by circling left 1/4 and then beginning the
walk through with a circle left 3/4).
I often notice that many dancers aren't listening when you ask them to
"becketize" by circling left 1/4, which leads to initial confusion down the
line, so Nils' solution avoids that common problem. It was obvious (at least to me)
that the dances were, in fact, Becket dances based on how they ended and his description
of the progression, and he'd actually have us begin to the music from the "backed
up" becket formation and Circle 3/4.
I just thought it was a really neat way to do walk throughs for those Becket dances that
start with a Circle Left 3/4. Note that it won't be correct to use for Becket dances
that begin with other moves.
Has anyone else ever seen or used this walk-through technique?
What do you think of it?
I tried it on one dance I called in Cocoa Beach on Saturday and it worked very well.
/Andy Shore
http://andyshore.com
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5:13 p.m.
If a dance begins with Circle L to a swing, I often just start improper with the swing.
At the end of the dance when folks are next to their partners, I explain that the dance
starts on this side and is called Becket formation.
I have also trained dancers to line up in Becket formation by saying, "The next dance
is in Becket formation; hands four get into Becket..." It's a great way to get
them to settle down, listen and take hands four, an important consideration when
you're calling to large or talkative crowds.
Lisa
5:27 p.m.
At the risk of being pedantic, I would like to take this opportunity to spread the word
that the band's name is spelled Elixir. I only point this out because the
"alternate" spelling seems to be taking hold (including in a full-page ad in the
CDSS News). What can I say...I'm an editor by trade and temperament.
Joyce
P.S. Elixir played at our Fall Has Sprung festival over the weekend, and no matter how you
spell it, they were awesome.
Fire Ant Frolic in Austin with Nils Fredland calling
and Elixer playing.
5:47 p.m.
This sounds like a workable technique with becket dances starting
with these moves, and when the crowd has substantial experience. At
regular open public dances, however, I prefer to walk through dances
exactly as they will be danced and with the exact timing of the
dance. (Good contra dance callers use the walk-through to teach the
timing of the dance as well as the figures and transitions. Too
often the caller will use a different timing during the
walk-through.) This may be helpful for complex moves or transitions
but the caller will benefit by using timed prompts given "up to
speed" by the second walk-through. I also prefer clear prompts in
effective word order over added commentary during a walk-through. If
explanatory comments are needed they can be inserted before, after,
or between walk-throughs.
- Greg
**********
At 08:35 AM 11/8/2010, you wrote:
Halloween weekend, my partner and I attended the Fire
Ant Frolic in
Austin with Nils Fredland calling and Elixer playing. Great dances,
great music, nice people - what a wonderful weekend!
Nils did something on several walkthroughs that I don't think I'd
ever noticed before and I thought it was very clever and effective.
I asked him during a break if he had thought it up or where he had
learned it and he kind of avoided answering the question directly...
but I thought I'd share it here and see what people think.
On Becket dances that begin with a Circle Left 3/4, he did not have
the sets "becketize" themselves before the walk through... he'd say
"hands 4, ones cross over" and begin the walk through with a "Join
Hands Circle Left All the Way" (which is the same a becketizing by
circling left 1/4 and then beginning the walk through with a circle left 3/4).
I often notice that many dancers aren't listening when you ask them
to "becketize" by circling left 1/4, which leads to initial
confusion down the line, so Nils' solution avoids that common
problem. It was obvious (at least to me) that the dances were, in
fact, Becket dances based on how they ended and his description of
the progression, and he'd actually have us begin to the music from
the "backed up" becket formation and Circle 3/4.
I just thought it was a really neat way to do walk throughs for
those Becket dances that start with a Circle Left 3/4. Note that it
won't be correct to use for Becket dances that begin with other moves.
Has anyone else ever seen or used this walk-through technique?
What do you think of it?
I tried it on one dance I called in Cocoa Beach on Saturday and it
worked very well.
/Andy Shore
http://andyshore.com
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5 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
Andy Shore -
Greg McKenzie -
Jack Mitchell -
Joyce Miller -
Lisa Greenleaf -
Mortland, Jo